AN AXE hovers over the workforce at Macclesfield’s JJB store after nationwide redundancies were announced last week.

The 20-strong staff at the Pickford Street JJB superstore face an uneasy future after the firm said it would cut 800 jobs and relocate 400 employees.Exact details have not yet been released by the sports giant, prompting fears that Macclesfield’s shop workers – many of whom live in the town – could soon find themselves without a job.

The store, launched four years ago, has around ten full-time and ten part-time workers in the shop with more freelance staff in the gym.The site has both a retail unit and a gym – offering a pool, juice bar, fitness area and sunbeds.

A JJB spokesman said 72 stores nationwide would be shutting their doors permanently – and Macclesfield has not been ruled out.

He added: "1,200 jobs will be affected – 400 will be transferred to other areas of the company and there will be 800 redundancies. Store closures will particularly be in areas where there are smaller high street units and a larger superstore, and loss-making stores."

It is unclear if the Pickford Street store and gym is losing money, further adding to the uncertainty surrounding its future. This comes on the back of the news that other outlets, such as McDonald’s, have retreated from the town. It will, however, not come as a shock to the big boys at JJB, who have had an extremely tough year.

Preliminary results will make for grim reading for employees at Macclesfield’s only JJB outlet. Figures released last week show that operating profit is down 71.1 per cent in the past fiscal year.

A spokesman for the GMB union, whose members work at JJB, said: "The announcements came as a bit of a shock, our members were given very little notice.

"We were told by JJB that stores that aren’t profitable will be closed, but some have been shut that were commended for being very profitable, so Macclesfield could be one of them."

If you work at the Macclesfield store and would like more information, contact the GMB regional office on 0161 485811.